DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AMERICAN AND BRITISH WORDS

PART 2

I am indebted to Dr. Beren S. Ewen for providing a lot more words which are different in the U.K. and America - the comments in green are my own.

BRITISH	AMERICAN
Ground Floor	First Floor Contributed by Chris Johnson
Autumn	Fall
dummy* * Nik Shearer advises this is known as a "dummy tit" in Scotland and Newfoundland	pacifier
underground	subway
angry	mad
tights	pantyhose In the US, tights and pantyhose are different things: pantyhose are sheer, whereas tights are thicker. Alex
taxi	cab
mad	crazy
dustbin	garbage can
single ticket	one-way ticket
shop	store
ill	sick
timetable	schedule All the above contributed by Elma Pavlikova
ring (telephone)	call
biscuit	cookie Sent in by Thomas Highden - thanks
jumper	sweater
nappy	diaper
caravan	trailer or motor home
chemist	pharmacist
Elastoplast In England I've never heard someone call a plaster (bandaid) an elastoplast, I think that's the full name for it whereas plaster is the more commonly used version. Chloe Osman I think this must be an 'age' thing. When I was a child plasters were often referred to as Elastoplast as this was the main (if not only) make of plasters available: I assume this is why they are known as Bandaids in other parts of the world. Over the years many other makes have evolved and, as you so rightly say, most people now call them 'plasters' here in the UK.	bandaid
estate agent	realtor
jacket potato	baked potato
jam	jelly
jelly	jello
lead	leash
mac or mackintosh	raincoat
marrow	squash
peckish	hungry
football	soccer
no true counterpart	football
garden	yard A garden is specifically the part with a lot of plants, whereas a yard could be just grass. Alex
postal cost/post code	zip code
power point/plug/socket	electrical outlet/outlet
pram (short for perambulator)	baby carriage stroller Daniel Ausema
pub (short for Public House)	bar A pub serves food, whereas a bar might or might not. (I would say a pub is a type of bar in US English.) Alex
to be made redundant	laid off, lose your job
sacked/ get your P45	get fired, get a pink slip or become unemployed
refectory (not used much these days - canteen is usually used especially in workplace)	cafeteria
rucksack	backpack
Sellotape	scotch tape
sideboards (this has really come about due our poor pronunciation as a "sideboard" is a piece of furniture usually found in the dining room of a house)	sideburns
sleeping policeman (I say nothing!)	speed bump
smalls	underwear
snooker	billiards or more commonly pool (I am not sure I agree with this one as in the U.K. these are three entirely different games. Pool and billiards are also different games in the US: in pool you try to get the balls into holes, whereas in billiards there are no holes. I've never heard of snooker in the US. Alex
solicitor	lawyer/attorney William Hitch advises that general public tend to call them lawyers but they call themselves attorneys. (here again I am not sure about this one and in the U.K. solicitiors, lawyers and barristers have different roles)
sultanas	raisins (in the U.K. we have sultanas, raisins and currants)
A surgery	doctors office
sitting in a tailback	stuck in a traffic jam. A tailback is a position in a US football team (Now that could cause a raised eyebrow!)
tap	faucet
tin	can
torch	flashlight
articulated lorry	tractor trailer
trainers	sneakers
treacle	molasses
vest	undershirt
waistcoat	vest
lounge	living room
banger	fatter, thicker version of a sausage In the UK we also use the term "old banger" when talking about a clapped out car.
bap	hamburger bun
candyfloss	cotton candy
clingfilm	plastic wrap We also say "Saran wrap" as well as "plastic wrap." Alex
pork scratchings	pork rinds
porridge	oatmeal
tomato sauce/ketchup	catsup or ketchup
white sauce	gravy (in the U.K. gravy is usually brown as it originated from meat juices whilst cooking).

This subject has created a great deal of interest and input from visitors. For ease of use these have been split into several different pages including:-

Differences between Australian, British and American English.

a chart listing some of the differences between the more commonly used British/American words and phrases,

Differences between some of the more common British and American words and phrases.

Then there are all the suggestions of language differences (2, 3 and 4) which have been sent in by visitors which are shown on three more pages.

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